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Modular clip applierModular clip applier description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20090157103, Modular clip applier. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for closing and/or sealing openings through tissue, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for delivering a closure element for closing a puncture in a blood vessel or other body lumen formed during a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure. 2. The Relevant Technology Catheterization and interventional procedures, such as angioplasty or stenting, generally are performed by inserting a hollow needle through a patient\'s skin and tissue into the vascular system. A guide wire may be advanced through the needle and into the patients blood vessel accessed by the needle. The needle is then removed, enabling an introducer sheath to be advanced over the guide wire into the vessel, e.g., in conjunction with or subsequent to a dilator. A catheter or other device may then be advanced through a lumen of the introducer sheath and over the guide wire into a position for performing a medical procedure. Thus, the introducer sheath may facilitate introducing various devices into the vessel, while minimizing trauma to the vessel wall and/or minimizing blood loss during a procedure. Upon completing the procedure, the devices and introducer sheath would be removed, leaving a puncture site in the vessel wall. Traditionally, external pressure would be applied to the puncture site until clotting and wound sealing occur, however, the patient must remain bedridden for a substantial period of time after clotting to ensure closure of the wound. This procedure, however, may be time consuming and expensive, requiring as much as an hour of a physicians or nurses time. It is also uncomfortable for the patient, and requires that the patient remain immobilized in the operating room, catheter lab, or holding area. In addition, a risk of hematoma exists from bleeding before hemostasis occurs. Various apparatus have been suggested for percutaneously sealing a vascular puncture by occluding the puncture site. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,192,302 and 5,222,974, issued to Kensey et al., describe the use of a biodegradable plug that may be delivered through an introducer sheath into a puncture site. Another technique has been suggested that involves percutaneously suturing the puncture site, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,184, issued to Hathaway et al. To facilitate positioning devices that are percutaneously inserted into a blood vessel, “bleed back” indicators have been suggested. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,689, issued to Kensey et al., discloses a bleed back lumen intended to facilitate positioning of a biodegradable plug within a puncture site. This device, however, requires that an anchor of the plug be positioned within the vessel, and therefore, may increase the risk of over-advancement of the plug itself into the vessel. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,231, issued to Green et al., discloses a deployable loop that may be advanced through a sheath into a vessel. The loop is intended to resiliently expand to engage the inner wall of the vessel, thereby facilitating holding the sheath in a desired location with respect to the vessel. Accordingly, apparatus and methods for delivering a device for closing a vascular puncture site or other opening through tissue would be useful. The present invention is directed toward an apparatus and method for delivering a closure element through tissue and into an opening formed in, or adjacent to, a wall of a blood vessel or other body lumen of any size. The apparatus can be configured to receive and retain the closure element so that the closure element can be disposed substantially within the apparatus. The apparatus can also be configured to engage the blood vessel wall adjacent to the opening and to position the closure element substantially adjacent to an outer surface of the blood vessel wall adjacent to the opening. When properly positioned, the apparatus can be activated to distally deploy the closure element. During deployment, the apparatus can be configured to substantially uniformly expand the closure element beyond a natural cross-section of the closure element such that the closure element, when deployed, can be configured to engage the blood vessel wall and/or tissue. Engaging the blood vessel wall and/or tissue, the closure element can be further configured to return to the natural cross-section. Thereby, the engaged blood vessel wall and/or tissue are drawn substantially closed and/or sealed, such that, for example, hemostasis within the opening can be enhanced. The present invention can also accommodate various configurations of an apparatus for deploying a closure element. The apparatus can include, for example, any of a variety of different trigger mechanisms. For instance, an exemplary apparatus may include a locator assembly that extends into a puncture site. A carrier assembly may be coupled with the locator assembly and can retain the closure element. A triggering system coupled to the carrier assembly can advance the carrier assembly toward the distal end of the locator assembly, and can include a trigger element that deploys the closure element. A body or housing may receive the locator assembly, carrier assembly, and triggering system, and can include a trigger element integrally formed with, or separate from, the housing. For instance, the trigger element may be a trigger button formed in the housing. The button may include a flexible tab that is elevated with respect to, or substantially flush with, the exterior surface of the housing. An envelope may also be integral with the housing and the trigger button formed in the housing. The present invention can also accommodate for variations in the size of the physicians hand and grip by selectively reducing the distance between the devices handle portion and a portion of a triggering system usable to deploy the closure element. The triggering system of the apparatus can at least partially move a trigger extension graspable by a physician or clinician as a locator assembly locates the blood vessel wall prior to deploying the closure element. This partial movement reduces the gap between the trigger extension and the handle portion. In this manner, a physician or clinician does not need to stretch uncomfortably to position a thumb or finger on the trigger extension, grasping the handle portion, and maintaining the device in the desired orientation relative to the tissue and/or the puncture site. An apparatus of the present invention usable to deliver a closure element to an opening formed in a wall of a body lumen and accommodate for variations in size of a user\'s hands can include a housing and a locator assembly having a distal end region configured to extend into the opening and selectably contact the wall of the body lumen. A carrier assembly can be coupled with the locator assembly, the carrier assembly retaining the closure element. A triggering system can also cooperate with the locator assembly and advance towards the distal end region of the locator assembly. A throw reducing mechanism can be slideably disposed relative to the housing and linked to the triggering system, such that as the throw reducing mechanism slides relative to the housing, the triggering system also moves relative to the housing. Optionally, movement of the throw reducing mechanism engages a plunger. The throw reducing mechanism may also be modular and removable from the housing. According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus usable for delivery a closure element accommodates different lengths of the arm and/or provides a stable base upon which the physician or clinician can move the device or apparatus as the closure element is positioned and deployed. In one configuration, the stable base is integral with, or selectively connectable to, a housing and can be extended as desired by the user. The stable base may be extendable and can lock in one or more positions as it moves from an unexpanded position to an expanded position. The stable base optionally forms a portion of a handle portion coupled with the housing. The expandable base fits comfortably within a user\'s hand while the hand is rested on a patient during the procedure to provide stability during use of the device and function as a base or pivot point for moving the remainder of the device or apparatus. Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Continue reading about Modular clip applier... Full patent description for Modular clip applier Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Modular clip applier patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. 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